Method of making lasts



Dec. 2, 1941. E. TOPHAM METHOD'OF MAKING LASTS Original Filed Feb. 1, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 1- n f0?" I Dec. 2, 1941. L. E. TOPHAM METHOD OF MAKING LASTS Original Filed Feb. '1, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 2, 1941. E. TOPHAM METHOD OF MAKING LASTS Original Filed Feb. 1, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 2, 1941 METHOD OF MAKENG LASTS Laurence E. Topham, Wenham, Mass, assignor to I United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application February 1, 1939, Serial No. 254,058. Divided and this application March 3, 1941, Serial No. 381,493

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of lasts for use in shoe making Ina-- chines.

This application is a division of applicants prior application for Last positioning and holding means, Serial No. 254,058, filed February 1, 1939.

The object of the invention is to produce a series of shoe supporting lasts of different sizes,

each of which may be readily located accurately in a shoe making machine with a given portion of the last in predetermined positional relation to the machine and to so form the lasts that this result may be accomplished without engaging the shoe upper or other parts of the shoe supported on the last. Lasts produced according to the present invention are particularly designed for use in a shoe making machine provided with a last positioning and supporting member to extend through the ankle opening in a shoe placed on the last, and are preferably of the type commonly known as hinged lasts or of types having similar V-shaped notches accessible through the ankle opening of a shoe on the last.

With the above objects in view, a series of lasts, produced according to the present invention, will have positioning surfaces formed on the last in predetermined relation to certain characteristics of the last and these surfaces will be arranged to be engaged by a last positioning and supporting member extending through the ankle opening of the last and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the positioning surfaces in all the lasts will be so located that they will have the same relation to the length and to the turning axis of the last. In the series of lasts hereinafter specifically described, the V- shaped notch is utilized in positioning and supporting a last and accordingly, a surface of the notch in each last is formed in predetermined relation to certain dimensions or elements of the last, the dimension and elements chosen in the present instance being the length of the last as measured on a line parallel to the turning axis of the last from the tip of the toe of the last to the heel end of the. heel seat of the last, and the longitudinal axis about which the last was rotated in the last turning lathe. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a surface of the V-shaped notch in each last is located at the same angle to the turning axis of the last and at a distance from the toe end of the last having a predetermined relation to the length of the last measured as above indicated. Conveniently,

this positioning surface of the V-shaped notch is located in each last at right angles to the turning axis of the last and at a distance from the toe end of the last equal to a little less than seven-elevenths of the length of the last.

In order to indicate the manner in which a series of lasts produced according to the present invention may be supported in a shoe making machine, a shoe supporting jack and portions of a shoe making machine are illustrated in the drawings accompanying this application and are hereinafter described. This machine comprises a shoe supporting jack and mechanism for moving the jack to transfer the point of operation along the margin of a shoe supported on the jack, together with means for supporting a last on the jack and for effecting a relative adjustment of the jack and the jack moving mechanism for lasts of different sizes. In this machine, the last support is a wedge-shaped member, the surfaces of which engage the V-shaped notch of a hinged last and locate the last accurately with respect to the support while holding it firmly in place. To bring the last and the machine into a predetermined positional relation, regardless of the size of the last, themachine is provided with means whereby an adjustment of the wedge-shaped support in the machine may be made predetermined by thelocation of the positioning surface on the last. In the shoe making machine hereinafter specifically described, the toe of the last is located in the same position in the machine, regardless of the size of the last, and this result is securedby the provision ofa second member arranged ,to extend through the ankle opening of the shoe on the last and engaging a surface on the last at a distance from the V-shaped opening varying with the size of the last. This member, and the wedge-shaped support, are relative- 1y movable to permit engagement with lasts of different sizes and this relative movement is utilized to locate the last in the desired position. In the illustrated construction, alast pin to engage the pin hole of the last is utilized as the last engaging member to cooperate with the wedgeshaped support and to provide a relative movement of the last pin and wedge-shaped member to properly locate in the machine lasts of different sizes, the pin holes in the lasts are formed at distances from the positioning surface of the V-shaped notch varying with the size of the lasts. In the illustrated construction, the pin hole is bored always at the same uniform distance from the heel end of the heel seat of the last, regardless of the size of the last.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of so much of an automatic shoe making machine as is necessary to indicate the manner in which the lasts produced according to the present invention are used therein; Fig. 2 is a detail view showing in side elevation the shoe supporting jack of the machine, with the last positioning and supporting devices mounted thereon; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail perpective view of the wedgeshaped member which enters the V-shaped notch of the last and also showing, above the wedgeshaped member, the plate and pivot pin con stituting the hinge connection between the heel and forepart portions of a hinged last; and Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the wedge-shaped member with a last thereon, together with the devices for holding the last firmly on said memher.

The machine, portions of which are illustrated in Fig. 1, is an automatic shoe making machine, such for instance, as the automatic inseam sewing machine disclosed in the patent to Topham and Morrill No. 1,616,714, dated February 8, 1927. In automatic machines of this type, the shoe being operated upon is supported in a jack, indicated at 6, which is moved during the operation on the shoe to transfer the point of operation of the devices operating on the shoe, for instance, the needle of the illustrated machine, indicated at 8, along the margin of the shoe. To move the jack and control its position at all times during the operation, mechanisms actuated from a pattern cam shaft are provided. This pattern cam shaft, together with the mechanism actuated thereby for moving the jack to transfer the point of operation along the margin of the shoe, are ilustrated in Fig. l, the other mechanisms being omitted to simplify the illustration and description and being the same in all essential particulars as the mechanisms fully illustrated and described in the patent above referred to. The pattern cam shaft is indicated in Fig. 1 at H), and the cam for moving the jack to transfer the point of operation along the margin of the shoe, or feed cam, is indicated at l2. The connections between the cam l2 and the jack 6 are the same as in the machine of the patent, and comprise a cam lever l4, a lever l6 pivoted at one end on the machine frame and connected at the other end to the cam lever M by a link iii, a swinging link or radius arm 20, a link 22 connecting the lever [6 with the forward end of the arm 20, an adjustable pivotally mounted support 24 on which the radius arm 28 is mounted at its rear end, a feed arm 26, a link 28 connecting the link 22' with the feed arm and a link 38 connecting the forward end of the feed arm 26 with the toe end of the jack 5. The connections between the cam l0 and the jack are adjustable for the size of shoe being operated upon in the same manner as in the machine of the patent, a link or bar 32 connected to the support 24 being mounted to slide in a block 34 pivoted on the machine frame, and locking dogs 36 on a cross head 38, actuated by a rod 40, being provided for locking the rod 32 against movement when the machine is started into operation. The adjustment of these connections is accomplished by a movement of the jack to starting position by the operator prior to throwing the machine into operation, at which time the dogs 36 are out of locking engagement with the bar 32, so that a movement of the support 24 is permitted to change the position of the pivot of the radius arm 20, movement being imparted to the support 24 through the link 3!], feed arm 2'6, links 28 and 22, and radius arm 20, as the jack is moved.

It is necessary, in machines of the type illustrated in Fig. 1, that the toe of the shoe, regardless of size, be located in the same position in the machine with relation to the mechanisms for actuating and controlling the jack. Heretofore this result has been accomplished by an adjustment of the shoe on the jack to bring the toe of the shoe against a toe rest having a fixed position on the jack. To secure this result by the use of the series of lasts hereinafter described as embodying the present invention, a wedge-shaped last positioning and supporting member is mounted on the jack, and is constructed and arranged to extend through the ankle opening of a shoe on a last and engage a V-shaped notch in the last. This member is indicated at 42 and is rigidly secured or formed integrally with the jack frame. The illustrated last which the member 42 is adapted to position and support is a hinged last of well-known construction, except as to features hereinafter described, the opening between the heel and forepart portions of which is in the form of a V-shaped notch having surfaces adapted to be engaged by the front and rear surfaces of the wedge-shaped member 42. The wedge-shaped member accurately fits the V- shaped notch of the last, and thus the last is accurately and firmly supported on the jack without the use of a toe rest or any other devices engaging the shoe upper or other parts of the shoe on the last.

Since the V-shaped notches of lasts of different sizes are located at different distances from the ends of the last, it is necessary, if the toe ends of all lasts are to occupy the same position with relation to the jack actuating mech anism, to provide for a relative adjustment of the support 42 and the actuating mechanism. In the illustrated construction, this relative adjustment is secured by connections between a last pin, movably mounted on the jack, and the socket connecting the toe end of the jack with the link 38 of the jack moving mechanism. The last pin is indicated at 44 and is rigidly secured to, or formed integrally with, the forward end of a link 46 which is movably supported by links 48 and 55 pivotally connected respectively to the forward and rear ends of the link 46. The lower end of the link 48 is pivotally mounted in the jack frame adjacent and to the rear of the last support, and the lower end of the link 59 is pivoted on an arm 52 fast on a rock shaft 54 mounted in the rear portion of the jack frame, the arrangement being such that a bodily movement of the last pin 44 is permitted towards and from the last support 42 without changing the angular relation of the pin and support longitudinally of the last.

Ball and socket joints are provided at both ends of the link 48 and at the upper end of the link and thus a rocking movement of the link 46 is permitted to allow the last pin to align itself with the pin hole in the last, regardless of variations in the angular positions of the hole transversely of the last.

The sockets connecting the toe end of the jack with the link 30 of the jack moving mechanism is indicated at 56. This socket, instead of having a fixed relation to the jack, as in prior constructions, is formed upon the front ,end of a bar 58 mounted on the jack so as to be capable of a longitudinal adjustment thereon and thus a relative adjustment of the jack and its actuating mechanism, and consequently a relative adjustment of the wedge-shaped support 42 and the jack actuating mechanism, may be effected by a relative movement of the jack and the bar 58. The bar 58 is supported on the jack by a pin til at the front end of the jack, carrying a roll which engages a curved longitudinal slot 62 in the bar, and by an arm 64 fast on the shaft to the lower end of which arm the rear end of the bar 58 is pivotally connected. With the I construction illustrated and above described, a movement of the last pin 84 to bring it into alignment with the pin hole of a last being placed upon the wedge-shaped support 42 will move the bar 58 on the jack, or in case the socket 56 is held from movement by reason of its connection with the jack actuating mechanism, will move the jack with relation to the bar, so as to bring the socket 55 and the toe end of the last which has been placed on the jack into substantially vertical alignment.

The last supporting and locating devices herein illustrated and described are particularly adapted for use in connection with lasts having the positioning surfaces of the V-shaped notches and the last pin holes formed in predetermined relation to certain characteristics of the last whereby an accurate predetermined positioning of the shoe in the machine is effected, regardless of the size of the shoe, by simply placing the lasted. shoe on the jack with the wedge-shaped support entering the V-shaped notch and with the last pin entering the pin hole of the last. In Fig. 2 of the drawings, two lasts of different sizes are illustrated, as representative of a series of lasts, one being shown in full lines and the other in dot-and-dash lines. The lasts illustrated are the same in style, differing from each other only in size. In these lasts, the dimensions vary from a center, which may be called the grading center, located at the intersection of longitudinal and transverse axes common to all the lasts, one of these axes being the longitudinal turning axis of the last and the other being the transverse axis extending substantially parallel to the bottom of the toe portion of the last coincident with the axis of the hinge pivot. It will be obvious that if these axes are always brought into the same relation with the wedge-shaped support, the lasts will be located in the same angular relation to the support in all directions. To secure this result, the surfaces of the heel and forepart forming the V-shaped notch have the same position in all of the lasts with relation to these axes, being arranged at the same predetermined angle with relation to the longitudinal turning axis of the last and converging towards the same point with relation to the transverse axis. In the illustrated construction, the positioning surface on the forepart of the last is at right angles to the longitudinal axis. Also, the surfaces of the V-shaped notch extend always at the same angle with relation to each other so that the Wedge-shaped support 42 fits accurately into the notch of each last. By providing a series of lasts having the features so far described, any last of the series will be accurately positioned on the jack by merely placing the last on the wedge-shaped support. These features also make possible the automatic relative adjustment hereinbefore described of the jack, and its actuating mechanism, to bring the toe of all lasts, regardless of size, into the same position with relation to the jack actuating mechanism. As has been described, the axis of the hinge pivot in all lasts passes through the grading center of the last. This axis is, therefore, always located at a distance from the toe end of the last proportional to the length of the last. Also, as has been described, the surfaces of the V-shaped notch have the same position in all of the lasts with relation to this axis. The positioning surfaces of the V-shaped notch are, therefore, always at a predetermined distance from the toe end of the last, the surface on the forepart, for instance, being at the same distance from the toe end of the last as the axis of the hinge pivot plus a small constant. In the construction illustrated, the axis of the hinge pivot is located at a distance from the toe end of the last equal to seven-elevenths of the length of the last, as measured on a line parallel to the turning axis of the last from the tip of the toe of the last to the heel end of the heel seat of the last. With the positioning surfaces of the V-sha'ped notch arranged in this manner, a movement of the last pin towards or from the support d2 varying with the size of the last Will produce the desired relative adjustment of the jack and'the socket 58 of the jack moving mechanism. In order that this movement may vary in a predetermined manner with the size of the last, the pin holes in the lasts are all drilled at the same uniform distance from the heel end of the heel seat of the last.

In the illustrated machine, the jack is pivotally mounted at its lower and upon a suppcrting frame 56, and as the jack is actuated to transfer the point of operation along the margin of the shoe, the jack moves about this pivot. Accordingly, in the illustrated construction, the connections between the last pin it and the socket 536 of the jack moving mechanism are proportioned and arranged to effect a relative adjustment of the jack and socket sufficient to locate the toe of all lasts on a radial line extending from the pivot of the jack through the socket. The locaions of these radial lines with relation to the jack, for lasts of different sizes, are indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. extending downwardly from the toe ends of the lasts through the socket 55.

The last illustrated in the drawings, except for the location of the positioning surfaces of the V-shapecl notch and the location of the pin hole, is of well-known construction. The hin e connection between the heel and forepart comprises the hinge plate 68 extending longitudinally of the last across the V-shaped notch. To receive this plate, a slot "ii! is formed in the Wedge-shaped supporting member 42, and a device cooperating with the plate is mounted in the wedge-shaped member to hold the last firmly in place. This device is indicated at 72 and comprises a bar, the upper end of which extends with the Wedgeshaped member into the V-shaped notch and is provided with a shoulder in the form of a hook ll arranged to engage a cooperating shoulder formed by a hole 176 in the plate 68. The lower end of the bar '52 surrounds an eccentric on a shaft is with which it is held frictionally in engagement by a clamping screw 88. The shaft 18 is journaled in the lower portion of the wedgeshaped member 42 and is provided with an operating handle 82. The construction is such that a rotation of the shaft 18 in a clockwise direction from the position indicated in Fig. 5 swings the bar '32 out of engagement with the hinge plate 68, due to the frictional engagement of the lower end of the bar with the eccentric, and then moves it upwardly, after which a rotation of the shaft in a counter-clockwise direction swings the bar '12 into engagement with the plate 68 of a last placed on the support 42 and then moves it downwardly in a direction normal to the bottom of the last to force the last onto the support. When the bar 12 is in its lowest position, the eccentric on the shaft I8 is on dead center and consequently the bar is securely locked against any return movement.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and a particular embodiment of the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

l. The method of making a series of lasts of different sizes for use in a shoe making machine provided with a last positioning and supporting member to extend through the ankle opening in a shoe on a last which comprises forming on each last positioning surfaces to engage corresponding surfaces on said last positioning and supporting member and so locating said surfaces that the surfaces in all the lasts will have the same rela tion to the length and to the turning axis of the last.

2. The method of making a series of lasts of different sizes for use in a shoe making machine which comprises forming on each last a V-shaped opening arranged to be engaged by a wedgeshaped last positioning and supporting member extending through the ankle opening of a shoe on the last, and so locating a surface of the V- shaped opening of each last that said surface in each of the lasts is at a predetermined angle to the turning axis of the last and at a distance from the toe end of the last having a predetermined relation to the length of the last.

3. The method of making a series of lasts of different sizes for use in a shoe making machine which comprises forming on each last a V- shaped opening arranged to be engaged by a wedge-shaped positioning and supporting member extending through the ankle opening of a shoe on the last, and so locating a surface of the V-shaped opening of each last that said surface in all of the lasts is at right angles to the turning axis of the last and at a distance from the toe end of the last having a predetermined relation to the length of the last.

4. The method of making a series of hinged lasts of different sizes for use in a shoe making machine which comprises forming in each last a V-shaped notch separating the heel part from the forepart and arranged to be engaged by a wedge-shaped last positioning and supporting member extending through the ankle opening of a shoe on the last, and so locating the surface of the V-shaped notch on the forepart of each last that said surface in all of the lasts is at the same angle with relation to the turning axis of the last and at a distance from the toe end of the last having a predetermined relation to the length of the last.

5. The method of making a series of hinged lasts of different sizes for use in a shoe making machine which comprises providing each last with a hinged pivot, the axis of which passes through the grading center of the last, forming on each last a positioning surface arranged, to be engaged by a last positioning and supporting member extending through the ankle opening of a shoe on the last, and so locating the positioning surfaces that the positioning surface in all of the lasts is in the same position with relation to the axis of the hinged pivot.

6. The method of making a series of hinged lasts of different sizes for use in a shoe making machine which comprises providing each last with a hinged. pivot, the axis of which passes through the grading center of the last, forming positioning surfaces on the heel and the forepart of each last to form a V-shaped notch arranged to be engaged by a wedge-shaped positioning and supporting member extending through the ankle opening. of a shoe on the last and so locating the positioning surfaces that the V-shaped notch in all or" the lasts is in the same position with relation to the axis of the hinged pivot.

LAURENCE E. TOPHAM. 

